ObjectiveTo systematically review the effects of nursing-implemented sedation protocol on outcomes of mechanical ventilation and sedation in mechanically ventilated ICU patients. MethodsWe searched EMbase (Ovid), The Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid), Web of Knowledge, CINAHL, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP to collect studies on nursing-implemented sedation protocol up to January 2014. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 11 studies involving 2118 patients (1 037 were in the intervention group, and 1 081 were in the control group) were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that nursing-implemented sedation protocol could reduce the total dosage of midazolam (MD=-163.82, 95%CI -309.81 to -17.84, P=0.03), the daily dosage of midazolam (MD=-37.22, 95%CI -61.14 to -13.29, P<0.01), and the incidence rate of VAP (RR=0.53, 95%CI 0.34 to 0.81, P<0.01). However, nursing-implemented sedation protocol had no effects on the length of mechanical ventilation, the length of ICU stay, and self-extubation. ConclusionCompared with the usual sedation management, nursing-implemented sedation protocol can reduce the dosage of midazolam and the incidence rate of VAP. But no statistical significances are found in the length of mechanical ventilation, the length of ICU and the incidence rate of self-extubation.